Tag Archives: Japan

I subscribe to the belief that everyone is born beautiful in their own special way. If everyone looked like society’s perception of beauty, then nobody would be truly beautiful because everyone would look the same at that point. Unfortunately, a lot of women think differently, as they see the need to go under the knife to change how they look. I’m not judging though; everyone’s free to do as they please, and if they feel like plastic surgery is the way to go, then it’s their choice.

If you’re thinking of going that route, then you might wan to consider the Beauty Lift High Nose first. It’s an unusual-looking gizmo sold by Japan Trend Shop that promises to give users a “firmer, higher” nose with continued usage. Of course, nothing is proven, but you might realize a couple of things while you defer the surgery and use this instead.

When worn, the Beauty Lift High Nose delivers a constant, gentle vibration to the parts of your nose that need it. The site recommends that the device be used for three minutes a day, every day. It retails for $68.

Who ever thought sleeping in and on pastry could be so comfortable? I don’t mean the normal kind you see at bakeries, but rather, I’m talking about these gigantic, cushy ones being sold by Japanese mail order company Felissimo. A variety of sleeping bags oozing with baked goodness are available, from the “Goodnight Desert Omelette” and “Japanese Cushion Bread” to the “Chocolate Nap” and “Cream Pocket Bread.”

Each of them is inspired by the particular pastry they’re named for. Some of them even come with red jam and chocolate filling–in the form of red and brown blankets respectively.

Too much of a good thing is often bad for you, and that especially holds true to salt.

While salt-laden foods might be yummier, they’re also a whole lot unhealthier. So watch what you’re eating and keep track of the level of saltiness of your food when you can. Making the latter easier is the Handy Salt Meter. It’s got a LED display that lights up according to how salty your food is. All you have to do is turn it on and stick it into your food.

It doesn’t work on solid or cold food though, so you just have to use your better judgment for those.

Some people wear their hearts on their sleeve, but you can wear your iPod instead. It’s more than just a novelty, because this shirt by inink can actually come in handy, especially if you listen to music a lot. If you’ve never sprung for one of those iPod or iPhone armbands that let you run, jog, or do whatever it is you need to do with both hands, then this shirt is a fun alternative.

These shirts are part of inink’s “pocket series.” All of the shirts in this run come with a translucent, sealable pocket that lets you carry small-sized items like your iPod, phone, handkerchief, and even your wallet. Just make sure you’re in a safe neighborhood before parading around with your essentials highly visible on your chest, though.

Cyborgs might walk among us one day. For now, it’s just Japanese schoolgirls decked out in exoskeleton suits. You might have noticed that manufacturers turn to schoolgirls whenever they want to market some hot, new product in Japan. This time around, it’s the Powered Jacket MK3 developed by Sagawa Electronics.

It’s the first commercially available exoskeleton that’s being marketed in the country. Weighing in at just 55 pounds, the suit stands 7 feet tall and can be worn to travel around the city. It even bends over so its wearer can pick stuff up. For something that looks tough and mechanical, its wearer can have the suit grab an egg and crack it.

iPhone stands are infinitely more fun if they’re made in Japan. This particular one called the Dancing Face Stand by Takara Tomy dances to the tune of whatever music you choose to play and features your face prominently on your phone’s screen. All you have to do is fire up its companion app called FaceSing, take a photo, choose and set the music, and then watch the bot-like stand do its thing.

Hit the break for a video that shows off the stand in action. It’s silly, it’s oddly adorable, and it’s a whole lot fun.

In completely non-tech news, we’re hearing that all McDonald’s in Japan are gearing up to start selling the largest single portion of their iconic fries, and are calling it “Mega Potato”. In the process, it becomes the item on the menu with the most calories the chain has ever sold. Weighing 350g, or roughly three quarters of a pound, the comically wide container of fries packs a whopping 1,152 calories. Making up that half-day portion of calories is 60.9g of fat, 135.3g of carbs and (get this) 1,600mg of sodium. It’s the equivalent of two large portion of fries, and while the promotional material is clearly suggesting this is an item that’s meant to be shared we all know that if it was offered stateside, it’d be a one-man portion at best.

It’s being offered for a limited time, and for 490 yen or just under $5. So if you’re in Japan and are hankering for a man-size portion of fries, you won’t have to pay through the nose.

They’re basically fruit with rinds that have been etched with one of the world’s most popular kitties–and because of that etching, its price has multiplied several times over than that of regular melon. It’s being made and sold by gourmet food specialty shop Belluna and apparently, they’re extremely limited in nature as only 300 of these will be made available.

The Hello Kitty melons will be on sale until July 31st or until stocks last for 4,980 yen (or about $50) each.

Got bad breath and feet that can stink up an entire room? Then these robots will let you know. Developed by CrazyLabo and the Kitakyushu National College of Technology in Japan, the Kaori-chan and Shuntaro-kun robots will smell your breath and sniff your feet before letting you know just how much you’re stinking up the place. Kaori-chan will tell you what it thinks about your breath straight to your face, while Shuntaro-kun beats around the bush a little and shows you instead by either cozying up to you or losing consciousness.

OhGizmo! is a frequently updated blog that focuses on covering items that will appeal to a very specific and often very passionate audience: the geek. Aside from the fare of innovative consumer electronic products, the reader can expect to find news about geek culture, absurd inventions, awe inspiring technology, and an ever growing assortment of articles that we like to think fit within our view of what we’re calling the Geek Lifestyle.